A study on drum cutting properties with full-scale experiments and numerical simulations

Abstract

In order to investigate the properties of cutting loads on shearer drum, a series of full-scale shearer drum cutting tests were conducted in the National Energy Coal Mining Machinery Equipment Research and Design Center of China. The pick forces and the torque acting on the drum were measured and recorded under different cutting conditions by the strain sensors that were embedded in the cutting picks. Besides, an attempt was made to simulate the shearer drum cutting process. For this purpose, a computer program named Particle Flow Code in three dimensions (PFC3D) based on discrete element method (DEM) was used. The rock sample was models by graded particle assemblies and the micro-properties were calibrated by modeling the uniaxial compressive strength tests. The cutting process for the front and back drums with different traction speeds were simulated with this model. The torque of drums and forces of each pick were obtained during the simulation. Reasonable agreement and significant correlations were found between experiment and numerical simulation in terms of cutting forces of picks and the mean torque of the drums. The specific energy increased with the increase of traction speed in experiments, which was reproduced well in numerical simulation. Moreover, according to the analysis in frequency domain, the vibration of drum torque consists of components with multiple frequencies below 50Hz, which is observed in both experiment and simulation. Therefore, numerical simulation by PFC3D is an easier, faster and reasonable method in the prediction of drum cutting load and design of shearer drum.